(06 Aug 2022, 8:44 pm)Adrian wrote Customer Service and Social MediaI personally feel their customer services opening hours should be extended as 9am till 5pm just does not cut it for me personally nor does it provide any support to customers in the late evening if there is any service/app issues the customer may encounter, I would say operating hours should be 8am till 10pm as a minimum so that customers are supported from early morning till late evening. You'd have a morning shift of 8am till 4pm then a late of 2pm till 10pm so all hours are covered, yes staff might become unhappy about this but in the job role they do they and the company should be a lot more flexible in this offering and it would also open up opportunities to expand the team as no doubt there will be those out there who prefer working later hours.
Most operators, including Go North East, have cut down to an extremely limited customer services offering. An inability to contact all three major operators, during their operating hours, is problematic and not customer friendly in the slightest. GNE and Stagecoach, to their credit, have still kept local teams to perform this role close to their networks, whereas others have centralised as a cost-saving exercise. This could still be vastly improved, and ensuring that key bus stations are staffed is a must for me.
I agree with Ambassador's comments on Social Media, but again, I don't think GNE are alone here. Most bus operators that I see have absolutely dire platforms on Social Media, but that's not necessarily a training issue. Many companies will set standards on how they want their social platforms ran. LNER, for example, are quite laid back and engaging with customers. I think we can also learn lessons from the way the RMT have ran their social media during their rail dispute.
Whilst there's improvements to be made in both areas, do we think it has a massive influence on people using services? I'd personally suggest not.
In closing, I think there's a lot of points to consider, but at the same time need to acknowledge it's not solely a Go North East issue. GNE have jumped first on a lot of things, but it's just highlighting how broken the market is and why we need proper funding model for public transport and especially buses.
It feels like a lifetime ago now, but I remember the faces of thunder in the front row at Newcastle Civic Centre when the then Integrated Transport Authority gave it's approval to proceed with a move towards introducing Quality Contracts; and the fierce opposition that followed. Stagecoach, I recall, threatening to sack all their workforce rather than let QCS run.
The rest is obviously history now, but given the situation that operators are finding themselves in nowadays; both Go Ahead and Stagecoach going through the process of sales, two operators going bust, and another bought out in the last week alone, I'd suggest that any serious Managing Director would jump at the chance of being in a regulated or franchised market now...
Having left EE a few months back i'm due to be starting a new role in Customer Services with LNER in next week or so just waiting on a start date being confirmed, looking at there Customer Service opening hours they operate from 8am till 10pm which pretty much covers the bulk of there timetabled services.
Furthermore I think Bus Companies such as Go North East could learn a lot from there Rail counterparts when it comes to providing customer service, LNER was mentioned above and I am in full agreement with the statement made, there team regardless of the situation are pro-active in resolving issues for there customers and I would say given ongoing drivers shortages and cancellations of services as a result that Go North East should implement "Delay Repay" if there passengers have encountered delays in excess of 30 Minutes like we have on trains, I waited 35 minutes at The Galleries for an X1 to Gateshead but if I called there customers services would I get a resolution, would they refund my fare, more than likely not and at most i'd get is a half arsed apology and a lack of interest or empathy from the agent i'm speaking to as I have found in previous experiences when calling them.
If you look at Go North East Social Media a lot of queries go unanswered and to me seem to pick out the first handful of responses before in effect giving up and in turn not being pro-active like LNER in resolving complaints from customers, it's no wonder staff morale is at an all time low and that customers are tired of such a lacklustre services being provided to them day in day out and yes I would say passenger numbers have dropped as a result, for me I have always lived in Go North East territory whether that be in Washington or my current location of Low Fell however I feel as though it would be better for another operator to come to the front as I think the Go-Ahead Groups time is up here in the North East, it's time for a change because they are not going to and will continue there cut culture long after MG has gone at the end of the month.